Coaches Pick Eagles to Finish Third

With eight returning players and slew of newcomers, new Eastern
head coach Jim Hayford receives respect from his peers

Whether or not the respect is warranted will be determined next
March.

But for now, new Eastern Washington University men’s
basketball coach Jim Hayford and his team received
notable respect from Big Sky Conference head coaches by being
picked to finish third, the league announced on Wednesday (Oct.
19).

With eight returning letterwinners and several talented
newcomers, Eastern was picked by the coaches to finish behind
predicted winner Weber State and runner-up Montana in the league
race. The Eagles were just one point ahead of fourth-place Northern
Colorado, the league’s defending regular season and
tournament champion.

In the media poll, Eastern was picked to finish sixth, just
three points away from No. 5 Portland State. Weber State, Montana,
Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona held down the first four
positions.

“The coaches who have been in the conference know about
this much more than me,” said Hayford, “and they are
saying it looks like a very competitive conference race with many
close games in store for our team.”

The top six teams in the regular season standings advance to the
league’s postseason tournament, which begins March 3, 2012.
Last year, Eastern finished 10-20 overall and 7-9 in the Big Sky to
advance to the tournament for the first time in five years.

“Both polls pick us to be in the post-season,” added
Hayford, who was 217-57 the past five seasons at NCAA Division III
Whitworth University. “I hope they are correct.”

Eastern opens the 2011-12 season on Nov. 11 at Gonzaga, and its
league opener is Dec. 28 at Montana State. The first home game for
the Eagles is Nov. 15 against South Dakota and the first league
home game is Jan. 5 versus Weber State.